Guy

The trouble is we haven't got a Mahrez, Huth, a peak Albrighton or Vardy or an Argentinian duo in Cambiasso and Ulloa to dig us out of our present hole at the mo. - nor indeed Schmeichel in goal as per Great Escape season 10 years ago! We have a 38 year old Vardy instead, Skipp in midfield and two players here for their late pension pay out in BC Reid and Ayew - not to mention a fragile defence with their solid no.1 still missing in action still after x amount of weeks through injury! In short I'd be amazed if we stay up, despite only still somehow being two points from safety after six straight defeats and scoring two goals, mainly due to the poor quality of the teams in and around us too. The context of that may change a little if we win today (highly unlikely) and results go our way - but I guess it remains the hope that kills you!

December 1996, our first season back in the Prem. under O'Neill! A 1-1 draw I think, we thumped them 2-4 at Ewood on the last day of the season (minus the fog!)

The first real victims of this were arguably Sheffield United last season I think. If these ludicrous rules stick then I think many more will follow the Isaac Newton rule of thumb suit!

I daredn't say but if we do finish in the bottom three then we probably ain't coming back in a hurry this time!

Tiatto wasn't here for long though and Hume had more decent games than bad from memory - unlike Daka when he plays!

Indeed, it's no good scoring one wonder goal a season but missing easy chances into treble figures each season. I can't believe he's still here tbh - the Danny Ward equivalent in attack!

Yes, very much Blackburn, Stoke and Sheffield Wed. vibes if we go down this season I fear!

Two more Anfield OGs for Faes if he starts?!

Something about Ruud being manager here (without his own staff), as the equivalent of Nigel Pearson as a manager after his time with us - minus Shakey and Steve Walsh??!

Although I'm sure Danny Ward doesn't just play to let goals in for fun (as many seem to be suggesting!), then all the same for a club that has generally prided itself on having great no.1s (Gordon Banks, Shilton, Wallington, Kasey Keller, Tim Flowers, Kasper Schmeichel and now Hermansen), then the Welsh international has been a real blot on the old copybook as a general signing, with his performances between the sticks, not to mention the amount of time he's been here now!

Did people leave games ridiculously early like they do now in the 60s, 70s and 80s?! A lot less so I think!

Just hoping that the same three who went up last season finish in the same ascending order but that obviously we do so over the dotted line!

Indeed. If it hadn't been there'd have been no comeback for starters!

Only good thing is West Han got stuffed 2-5 at home, our next opponents no less and Ruud's first!

It's surely the new "Steve Kean out!" craze of early 2010s Blackburn vintage!

Trouble is if the international breaks are scrapped a la in the rugby then the Prem Lge may end up wanting absurd season endings like in the Rugby Premiership to decide who out of the top four is going to win the actual league at the end of the season via a play offs lottery - totally crazy. as much as I hate the international breaks like the next man!

and it's only....early October!!

That's what the club pay him handsomely to do!

If Ronaldo still has it at 39 (with more miles on the top level clock), then Vardy at 37 definitely still has!

The trouble is football fans want immediate success these days and for things to click in no time, Cooper's come in and has a different playing style to Enzo, while also losing playermakers like KDH and others since of course ! Indeed MON in '96 found that with the fans too in that it didn't immediately click (the players struggled to adapt to his more direct playing style after McGhee left of course) and then had the crowd on his back! Fast forward to two and a half years later re that Spurs game in late '98, then the crowd were begging for him to stay and not leave for Leeds of course! I'm not suggesting the same thing is going to happen with Cooper if people feel that there's no real team cohesion or recognisable tactics and he's been leaving out the best players for certain positions - or indeed that he's then going to go on and have the success that MON did over the next few years if given time - but IMO he still needs more than 5 games that still sees us in 15th place (not cut adrift at the bottom!) and a game against a League Two side that was not lost after all!

Stranger things have happened! A win would be ace but I guess the majority on here would still be giving it "Cooper Out" at present, even after that!

I'm on the fence over Cooper at the moment and I think this is a bit 'knee jerk' re a 'near miss' league cup game against league two opponents that always rings the changes. Also with his recent Forest past/association not helping matters. The thing is if we were bottom, pointless and playing like Sheffield United were last season, then it would probably be more cut and dried already but we've been pretty competitive in the Prem. games so far (reflected in our narrow goal difference and being sat in 15th), even if they haven't yielded a positive result yet a month plus into the league campaign. The Palace away game was close for e.g., even if we were largely second best throughout and were unluicky with that offside decision. Everton was perhaps more of a truer reflection of where we're at, at present in so far as those being the games we have to win (yet failed to) if we're to avoid finishing in the basement three come next May and not going for the win. I think if we're where we are now at Christmas then they'll stick with him but unless we lose the next seven in a row (or don't win any of them), then I don't think they'll be sacking Cooper anytime soon.

Only positive post I've seen in a while - but I think you're being a wee bit optimistic for Saturday, lol! I would love it if it happened though obviously!!

I know what you're saying but this topic is about Faes, not Maddison!

Yes, I guess he'll never quite live the "Liverpool's best player" tag down at Anfield two seasons ago! Win that match after KDH's goal (without his two o.g.s there to follow) and we'd have stayed up!